How to watch, what to know about South Dakota State football vs the Iowa Hawkeyes
Update: Iowa beat South Dakota State 7-3. Read the story here
South Dakota State visits the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday in the season opener for both teams. It's the first-ever meeting between the schools. Here's how to catch the game and what to know about the teams heading into the battle.
South Dakota State (11-4) at Iowa (10-4) game, TV info
WHEN/WHERE: 11 a.m. Saturday at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City
TV: FS1
ONLINE: FoxSports.com/live or (with cable subscription) or Fox Sports app.
RADIO: WNAX-AM 570 and Jackrabbit radio affiliates; KYNT-AM 1450
LINE (as of Tuesday): Iowa by 15.5
South Dakota State vs. Iowa football updates
COACHES: SDSU - John Stiegelmeier (26th year, 184-111); UI - Kirk Ferentz (24th year, 178-110)
SERIES: First meeting
RANKINGS: SDSU is ranked No. 2 in the FCS preseason Top 25. Iowa is receiving votes in the FBS polls.
What to know about the Iowa Hawkeyes
Much like South Dakota State, Iowa had a successful, even historic, 2021 season, but one that ended painfully. The Hawkeyes opened the year ranked 18th in the country, but a 6-0 start that included wins over three ranked teams shot them up to No. 2, their highest ranking since 1985. They promptly lost their next game 24-7 to unranked Purdue.
But a strong finish to the regular season allowed the Hawkeyes to claim the Big Ten West title at 10-2 and set them up with a berth in the Big Ten title game. They lost that game 42-3 to Michigan, then lost 20-17 to Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl.
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The Hawkeyes had that success despite an offense that was fairly punchless for much of the season, averaging a mere 303 yards and 23 points per game. And they’ve since said goodbye to running back Tyler Goodson, who with 1,151 yards on the ground was the offense’s most reliable weapons last year, as well as All-American center and first round-draft pick Tyler Linderbaum.
Spencer Petras returns at quarterback but wasn’t terribly consistent last year, completing 57 percent of his passes for 1,880 yards with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He has his two top targets back in tight end Sam LaPorta, who caught 53 balls last year, and speedster Keagan Johnson, who had 18 catches for 352 yards last year as a true freshman.
The Hawkeye defense was outstanding last year, and this year expects to be every bit as good. Iowa returns three starters at all three levels, led by middle linebacker Jack Campbell, who led the nation with 143 tackles last year, and All-Big Ten cornerback Riley Moss. Iowa led FBS with 25 interceptions last year, a school record. Former Washington Warrior Seth Benson has developed into a playmaker at weakside linebacker, having made 105 tackles and two sacks last season.
What to know about Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz
The 67-year-old Ferentz is entering his 24th year at the Hawkeye helm and 33rd overall on the coaching staff. He is Iowa’s all-time winningest coach and is the longest-tenured coach at one program in major college football.
Ferentz served as the Iowa offensive line coach under legendary coach Hayden Fry from 1981-89, with another legendary coach, Bill Snyder, as offensive coordinator. He then took his first head coaching job at Maine, where he went 12-21 in three seasons. He then spent six seasons as an NFL assistant until Fry retired, at which point he returned to Iowa to take over.
SDSU football: Mark Gronowski's return from injury highlights FCS title pursuit
The Hawkeyes went 1-10 and 3-9 in Ferentz’s first two seasons, but two years later were Big Ten champions and played in the Orange Bowl. All told, Ferentz has led Iowa to four conference titles, five seasons of 10 or more wins and 19 Bowl games, including nine in a row.
IOWA AGAINST THE FCS: The Hawkeyes are 9-1 against FCS opponents dating back to 2007, with the one loss being a memorable 23-21 upset to North Dakota State in 2016. They had some close calls, too, nipping Northern Iowa 17-16 in 2009 and 31-23 in 2014. Their last game against an FCS opponent came in 2018, when they beat Northern Iowa 38-14.
What to know about South Dakota State
The Jackrabbits went 11-4 last year, falling one game short of the FCS national championship after a road playoff run. That came just months after they were national runners-up in the pandemic-delayed spring season. SDSU played 25 games in 2021, going 19-6 across the two seasons.
Quarterback Chris Oladokun, running back Pierre Strong and cornerback Don Gardner are now in the NFL, while they’re also replacing all-conference players in center Wes Genant, offensive tackle Aron Johnson, linebacker Logan Backhaus, safety Michael Griffin and a handful of key defensive linemen.
Still, the Jacks have plenty of returning firepower. Quarterback Mark Gronowski, the spring season MVFC player of the year, is back from injury, while running back Isaiah Davis, receivers Jaxon and Jadon Janke and tight ends Tucker Kraft and Zach Heins also return on offense, along with All-American offensive linemen Garret Greenfield and Mason McCormick.
The defense brings back linebackers Adam Bock and Isaiah Stalbird, defensive linemen Caleb Sanders and Reece Winkelman and a handful of experienced defensive backs.
South Dakota State against the FBS
Last year SDSU walloped Colorado State 42-23 in their season opener, their second win all-time against an FBS opponent. Iowa also played Colorado State last year, and beat them 24-14. Jon Budmayr, who was Colorado State’s offensive coordinator last year, is now an offensive analyst for the Hawkeyes.
The Jackrabbits’ other FBS win came in 2015, when they beat a Kansas team that would ultimately go 0-12 by a score of 41-38.
Other notable SDSU vs FBS games in recent years include a 28-21 loss to Minnesota in 2019, a 59-41 loss to TCU in 2016 and a 38-18 loss to Missouri in 2014. The Jacks and Hawkeyes have never played each other.
Iowa/South Dakota State connections
Benson, the Hawkeyes starting weakside linebacker, was once committed to play at SDSU before flipping to Iowa late in the recruiting process. His dad, Chuck, was a running back at SDSU, while his mother JoeElle played basketball for the Jacks, his sister Ellie played volleyball for the school and his older brother Austin was a Jackrabbit linebacker. Benson is close friends with SDSU tight end Zach Heins, his high school teammate at Washington.
Keagan Johnson’s older brother, Cade, was an All-American wide receiver for SDSU and now plays for the Seattle Seahawks. Their father, Clester Johnson, played at Nebraska during the Huskers’ mid-90s dynasty.
South Dakota State has 12 Iowa natives on their roster: Linebacker Adam Bock (Solon), wide receiver Grahm Goering (Iowa City), wide receiver AJ Coons (Solon), linebacker Davion Sterner (Alvord), linebacker Cullen McShane (Marquette), longsnapper Jaden Mueller (Johnston), defensive tackle Logan Green (Northboro), defensive end Levi Vanden Bos (Rock Valley), offensive linemen Garret Greenfield (Rock Valley) and Colby Christensen (West Des Moines) and defensive tackles Ryan Van Marel (Sheldon) and Caleb Sanders (Glenwood).
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Iowa vs. South Dakota State football: How to watch, stream, TV
